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I have a confession to make: I have never found the name of this dish very appealing.  Ants?  Putting ants and food in the same sentence immediately makes me picture an army of the six-legged marauders marching across a blanket, intent on devouring my picnic lunch.

But if the name lacks gourmet appeal, it does accurately describe the dish.  The "ants" in the recipe are tiny bits of ground pork that cling to pieces of stir-fried vermicelli (the "tree").  There are a number of variations on the name, from Ants Climbing up a Log or Hill, to Ants Creeping Up a Tree.  However, they all refer to the same basic recipe.  

Ants Climbing a Tree is often made with a hot red chili pepper and chili sauce.  However, if pulling on a pair of plastic gloves to seed and slice hot peppers seems like too much work on busy weeknights, another option is to skip the hot peppers and add more chili sauce. 

The main trick in making Ants Climbing a Tree is handling the vermicelli noodles.  In the recipe below they are soaked, drained and added near the final stages of cooking, after the other ingredients have been mixed together.  Made from mung bean starch, vermicelli noodles (also known as glass and bean thread noodles) are incredibly absorbent, which can cause difficulties if you're cooking with them for the first time.  The noodles come in packets wrapped in string - I recommend keeping the string on during soaking and then cutting the noodles after they are drained.  This will make them easier to handle during stir-frying.  

If you have young children, another alternative is to skip soaking the noodles and deep-fry them separately from the other ingredients.  This causes the noodles to puff up and become quite crispy.  Set the deep-fried noodles aside, prepare the other ingredients and then pour the sauce over the noodles.  The end result is less flavorful - the noodles don't absorb as much sauce -  but children really enjoy watching them "grow" in the wok.  

Here is my recipe - I hope you enjoy it!

Ants Climbing a Tree

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground pork

Marinade:
1 tablespoon light soy sauce or Kikkoman
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 small red chili, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili bean sauce

or 
1 tablespoon chili bean sauce

2 slices ginger, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped, green and white sections
4 ounces transparent bean thread noodles (also known also vermicelli or glass noodles)
1/4 cup water

Oil for stir-frying

Directions:
Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate the ground pork for about 10 minutes.  
Without removing the string wrapping around the transparent noodles, soak in hot water until they are pliable (about 5 minutes). Drain well. Cut the noodles into shorter lengths and then remove the string wrapping. 
Chop up the chili (if using), ginger and green onions.  
In a wok or large frying pan, add oil for stir-frying.  Add the chili and ginger.  Add the marinated pork.  Once the pork has changed color, add the chili sauce, stirring in.  Add the noodles, stirring.  Add the water and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Serve hot.

Variations: Sprinkle in a few drops of sesame oil at the end of cooking.  

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